A Strange Phenomenon
by classicdisneyFTW
Summary: Rapunzel has never seen a man before, so that means she has never seen hair on someone's face before right? What is that tuft of hair on his chin for?
1. Chapter 1

_My very first fanfic. I hope it's not a complete flop. I got this idea while I was talking to my friend at school. a few weeks ago. She expressed her dislike towards facial hair and declared that it made men look like monsters. I thought of Tangled and how Rapunzel had thought that men were horrible monsters out to get her hair. It also occurred to me that Flynn had facial hair, thus this story was born._

_DISCLAIMER: As much as I would like to, I do not own Tangled or its characters_

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Rapunzel ducked behind a nearby mannequin with a little shriek. She peered over the top of it at the figure lying on the floor. It wasn't moving. _What is it?_ Rapunzel wondered as she studied it closely. It was obviously a human. It had a head, two arms, two hands, two legs, and two feet. It had hair on its head, though it was cut short. Even shorter than Mother's. _It must be a man!_

Mother had told her about men. They were similar to Rapunzel and her mother, but they were big, ugly, vicious creatures with pointy teeth that were out to get her and her hair. The figure on the floor had to be a man.

Upon realizing this, Rapunzel's first instinct was to run and hide and hope he went away, but her curiosity overrode her fear and she found herself moving closer to the unconscious man. _What are you doing, Rapunzel? He's probably here for your hair! _But she couldn't keep herself from scooting closer.

She cautiously crept out from behind the mannequin, frying pan outstretched just in case the man decided to wake up and attack her. _No, he can't wake up! What would I do? I can't hold him off forever with a cooking utensil. _Rapunzel prodded the man's head with the frying pan and immediately recoiled. He didn't stir.

Rapunzel glanced at Pascal on the ground, nearby. _What do I do? _she asked him silently. Pascal shrugged, this must have been the first time he had seen a man too. Rapunzel looked back at the man. She couldn't keep her eyes off him for very long, just in case he woke up.

He was lying flat on the floor, his face pressed into the tiles, so Rapunzel could not see what it looked like. Her curiosity was piqued again. What did a man look like? Were they ugly and brutish like Mother had said? Based off of her Mother's descriptions, Rapunzel had pictured a hulking beast with fangs, beffy arms that could snap her in half without effort, glowing red eyes filled with hate, wrinkly gray skin, and a face covered with hair. Rapunzel shuddered at the picture. Maybe she didn't want to see the man's face after all. She again felt the urge to run and hide, but she held her ground.

_Come on, Rapunzel. Be brave! _She would probably never have another opportunity to see what a man looked like. This was her only chance. She used the frying pan to gently push his head so that it fell to the side, the man's cheek resting on the ground rather than his nose. A lock of his short, chestnut-brown hair fell over his eyes, covering most of his face. Rapunzel drew back again. All she could tell from the slight change of position was that the man did not have gray, wrinkly skin. _Well that's a relief. _At least one part of her imagination had been wrong.

She looked back at Pascal, who trotted over to Mother's rough painting of a man bearing his fangs. Pascal turned red and imitated the painting. _Good idea. I should check his teeth_. Using the frying pan's handle, Rapunzel carefully pushed aside the man's upper lip, exposing his teeth.

She was surprised to see that they were straight, pearly-white, and most definitely not pointy. More of the image of man she had always pictured had been proven wrong. Maybe they weren't as terrible as she imagined them to be.

Encouraged by the new discovery, Rapunzel used the pan to flick the hair out of the man's face. She cringed, expecting the horrible red eyes, and hairy face, but was again surprised. Although his eyes were closed, she could tell that they were not much different from her own. They were smaller than her's, but they were round and framed with thick, dark lashes. His eyebrows curved in the same way her's did, but they were at least twice as thick as her's. His nose was straight and in perfect proportion with the rest of his face. His skin was smooth and a soft tan color, a hint of pink lingered over his high cheek bones.

Rapunzel felt her shoulders relax. She had been wrong the whole time. A man- at least this man- was not threatening or scary looking at all. Not in the slightest. In fact- dare she think it- he was almost sort of... nice looking.

Whilst in the middle of her muse and observation, her eyes fell to his chin and her heart just about stopped. There was _hair_ on the tip of it! There was hair on his face, just like she imagined! It didn't cover his face like she had originally pictured, but it was still there. _He's a monster, just like Mother said! Oh my gosh! What do I do? He's got hair on his chin! He's got __hair__ on his __chin__! Only something horrible would have that! What do I DO!_

The man's eyes suddenly shot open. In wild panic, Rapunzel bashed him over the head with the frying pan again. His eyes closed once more. Rapunzel waited until her heart rate slowed. Now what would she do with the hairy-faced man?

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_Will continue. Chapter 2 should be up soon. For those of you who enjoy Rapunzel/Eugene fluff, there is some to come in later chapters so be patient. Reviews are welcome... don't be too harsh. I'm sensitive ;P_


	2. Chapter 2

_Aww, I'm touched that you guys have enjoyed this story so far. :) Here's chapter 2 like I promised._

_I still do not own Tangled, but I'm working on it. I've got Disney on the phone right now :P_

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Rapunzel easily hoisted herself up into the rafters, she had done it plenty of times before, so it was no big deal. She huddled in the shadows, clutching the frying pan to her chest. She looked down at the man tied to a chair with her hair, still unconscious.

Pascal climbed onto the man's shoulder and glared at him, daring him to wake up. He slapped the man's cheek with his tail then quickly changed colors to bled in with the blue vest he was sitting on. The man didn't stir. Pascal began slapping the man's cheek repeatedly with his tail, but he still didn't move. Irritated, Pascal turned to face the man and shot his long, sticky tongue into his ear.

The man's head shot up with a yelp and Pascal went flying off his shoulder. _Alright, Rapunzel. Don't show any fear. You've got him tied up. He can't do anything to you whether he has hair on his face or not. _The man was looking around, confused. "Is this... hair?" she could hear him mumble to himself.

"Struggling..." Rapunzel detected fear in her voice, so she started over, "Struggling is pointless!"

She gracefully jumped down from the rafters, but remained hidden in the shadows. "I know why you're here," she said, "And I'm not afraid of you." In truth, she was absolutely terrified, but she would never let him know that.

The man still looked confused. "What?" he asked, squinting his eyes and searching the shadows, hoping to get a glimpse of his captor.

_You can do this, just don't think about what he could do to you and especially do NOT think about the hair on his face. _Rapunzel took a breath and slowly stepped out of the shadows. She refused to look at the patch of hair on his chin. Whether it was because of fear or newfound fascination with his eyes, she would never know. He had nice eyes. They were a hazel brown and not very different from her own. Both were squinted in confusion as she revealed herself.

"Who are you?" Rapunzel asked, "And how did you find me?"

The man was now gaping at her like a child looking at a piece of candy, which puzzled her. _Is he looking at me like that because he wants my hair or because he wants to eat me for lunch?_ "Ah-huh," he responded, not seeming to have fully processed her words.

Why was he looking at her so funny? It's not like she had anything weird on her face... like _hair _for instance. "Who are you and how did you find me?" she repeated more firmly, raising the frying pan threateningly.

He stared at her a moment longer before clearing his throat and beginning to speak. Rapunzel was taken aback by how deep his voice was. Significantly deeper than her's or Mother's. What surprised her more is what he said.

"I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you," he said with refinement. _What on earth have I come across? What kind of a monster talks like he's reading a poem?_ "But may I just say..." he continued. He flashed her a wide grin... or was it a smirk? It seemed to be an odd mix between the two. "Hi," he said with a lower, huskier voice.

Rapunzel was baffled by his expression._ Do men usually smile and say 'hi' when they're tied up and completely defenseless? What is he trying to accomplish by this?_ Rapunzel just narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and continued watching him.

"How ya doin'?" the grinning man continued is the same husky drawl, "The name's Flynn Rider. How's your day goin'?"

_Now he's asking about my day? What is he playing at? Does he not know I'm holding him captive?_ Rapunzel decided to help him become aware of his present situation. She scoffed and pushed the frying pan towards his face. "Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?"

_Flynn Rider. He has two names... weird._ "Alright, Blondie-" he began, dropping the stupid drawl.

"Rapunzel," Rapunzel corrected him, wearing the largest frown she could muster.

"Geshundeit," he replied, "Here's the deal, I was in a situation, galavanting through the forest. I came across your tower and f-" He suddenly clutched the handles of the chair and looked around desperately. "Oh! Oh no! Where is my satchel?" he asked in mild panic, looking back at Rapunzel.

_That must be the bag I found on the ground. Maybe I could use it against him. It must be important to him otherwise he wouldn't be so desperate._ "I've hidden it," she declared proudly, crossing her arms across her chest, "Somewhere you'll never find it."

_Ha! See if your hairy face can help you there._ He glanced around the room and after a few seconds, he pointed, "It's in that pot isn't it?"

She looked where he was pointing and her pride was shattered as her eyes fell on the exact hiding place. _How did he know that?_ Annoyed and without thinking, she whacked him over the head with the frying pan again.

Maybe that was an overreaction. Now he was unconscious again. Rapunzel quickly removed the satchel from the pot and looked around the room. He had a keen eye, that was for sure, so she had to find a really good hiding spot. She remembered the last stair on the staircase had a loose tile. Maybe...

She walked over to the stair and after a few swift tugs, it broke free. Luckily it was hollow beneath the tile and she slipped the satchel into the compartment. She placed the tile back on top of it. After giving a satisfied smile, she moved back in front of Flynn Rider.

She let herself look at the hair on his chin again. It fascinated and horrified her all at the same time. So far he had no shown any monstrous traits. He was most definitely strange, giving her that ridiculous gin and speaking with such a deep voice. But he had not done anything to frighten her yet. He just spoke to her like she would with Mother, no growling or snarling.

So maybe he wasn't a monster after all... but why did he have hair on his face?

Rapunzel became aware that she had become lost in her thoughts when Pascal gave a squeak from Flynn Rider's shoulder. _Oh right, back to business._ She nodded and Pascal stuck his tongue into Flynn Rider's ear again.

His head didn't shoot up like the last time, but his eyes slowly opened and he groaned wearily. It took him a moment to notice Pascal, but when he did, he yelped, sending Pascal flying off again. "Would you stop that!" he cried, disgustedly wiping his ear on his shoulder.

"Now it's hidden where you'll never find it," she said with confidence. Now that she had decided that he was not a monster, she decided that this would be easier than she originally thought.

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_So whaddya think? I've still got plans for future chapters. We'll see how soon I can get the next one up. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey, next chapter! Sorry to those of your who subscribed to story alert and got like 50 thousand emails on the last chapter. I was experiencing technical difficulties (mostly due to my inner blonde. I kept accidentally uploading the first chapter over and over again.)_

_Sadly I was unable to attain rights to owning Tangled, so I still don't own it or its characters :(_

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"I know it's around here somewhere," Flynn said, scanning their surroundings as they came around a bend in the road. Rapunzel followed him, eagerly. What was this place like that made him so perky?

"Ah there it is," he said, gesturing ahead, "The Snuggly Duckling."

Rapunzel looked. It was a building, but it looked strange. It was as if the place had been built next to a tree, but over time the tree grew bigger and bigger, eventually ramming into the building's side. Rapunzel had never seen anything like it, although... there was _a lot_ she had not seen before.

"Don't worry, very quaint place, perfect for you," Flynn told her as cheerily as possible, "Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole endeavor now, do we?"

Rapunzel decided that the place must have been a wonderful place, because Flynn only broke from his reserved sarcastic attitude when he talked about it. "Well, I do like ducklings," she said, trying to match his delight.

"Yay!" he squeaked, putting up his fists in a rather sissy way. Rapunzel found it amusing.

She kept her eyes on him as they headed for the door. The hair on his chin still fascinated her. She had decided that, although strange, the hair was not scary or dangerous. It sort of suited him, it gave a dark contrast to his light face. His face was sort of nice to look at she decided. She supposed that was because she had imagined men as those awful monsters with red eyes and gray skin, instead of a normal looking human so she was pleasantly surprised. Still, whatever the reason, she could definitely get used to looking at him.

He pushed the door open with a loud bang. "Garcon! Your finest table please!" he called loudly.

Rapunzel looked inside and was met with the most horrifying sight, her worst nightmares come true. The room was filled with giant men, even bigger than Flynn (who was already a whole head taller than her). All of them were dressed in awful furs and ratty materials, with huge ugly weapons strapped to their belts, backs, and arms. Some of them had gray skin and one even had red eyes! But worst of all, almost all of them had hair on their faces!

Not just a little tuft like Flynn had, but all over their upper lips, jaw lines, cheeks, and necks. To make it worse, it was long, scraggly hair, that looked like it had not been washed in years. Rapunzel had never been more horrified in her entire life. The terror she felt when she heard the bunny in the bushes earlier was nothing compared to what she felt at that present moment. _These must be the men Mother was talking about! _Rapunzel thrust her frying pan forward, ready to defend herself from the awful creatures.

She felt Flynn's hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward into the crowd of ugly men. "You smell that?" he asked gleefully, "Take a deep breath through the nose." He inhaled through his nose, to emphasize his point. "Really let that seep in. What are you getting? Because to me, it's part man smell and the other part is really bad man smell. But overall it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"

Rapunzel was too busy panicking about the men around them to answer. Each one was scowling at the new arrivals. Flynn sounded so pleased as he spoke. Was he used to being around thugs like these? He knew she had a fear of them so he wouldn't have brought her to a place full of ruffians and thugs if he knew they were there, right? Or would he?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a yank on her hair. With a squeaky gasp, she looked back and saw a man with fat arms and _hair_ covering most of his upper face holding onto her golden hair. She grabbed it from him and backed away as fast as she could.

"That's a lot of hair," the thug said in an extremely deep voice, as Rapunzel's 70 feet of hair ran through his fingers.

"She's growing it out," Flynn replied casually. His face suddenly brightened as he got a good look at the thug holding on to Rapunzel's hair. "Is that blood in your mustache?" he asked in excitement, "Goldie, look at this. Look at all the blood in his mustache! Good sir, that's a lot of blood."

_Blood in his... mustache? _Flynn was pointing at the hair on the thug's face. _Mustache? _The 'mustache' was by his mouth. If there was blood in his mustache, then... what had he been eating?

Before she could answer that question, she bumped into something large and hard. It growled at her and she whipped around. The thug she had bumped into was glowering at her over his monstrous shoulder. Now Rapunzel was too terrified to even think.

"Hey, you don't look so good, Blondie," Flynn said, walking over to her, "Maybe we should get you home, call it a day. Probably better off." he put his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders and began gently pulling her towards the door. "This is a five star joint after all and if you can't handle this place, well maybe you should be back in you tower."

Just before they were about to leave that awful place, mere inches away from freedom and fresh air, the door slammed shut. Rapunzel ducked behind Flynn and peeked over his shoulder. They both looked, petrified, at the largest thug in the room holding a piece of paper against the door. "Is this you?" he asked Flynn with a booming voice, pointing at the paper.

Flynn and Rapunzel simultaneously looked at the paper. It said 'Wanted- Flynn Rider- Thief'. _Thief? Flynn is a thief? That's what Mother once called me when I took a cookie from her basket without asking. Does Flynn take cookies too? _Flynn moved the thug's finger aside, so he could see the picture of his face and revealed a long, ugly nose drawn on it.

"Oh, now they're just being mean," Flynn grumbled.

"Oh it's him alright," a thug with a hook for a hand chuckled. He called over his shoulder, "Greno! Go find some guards!" He grabbed Flynn by the front of his vest and held his hook dangerously close to his neck, "That reward's going to buy me a new hook."

_Reward? He must have taken something much more important than a cookie. _Flynn was suddenly snatched away by a different thug, leaving Rapunzel alone with the hook hand thug. "I could use the money," Flynn's new captor declared.

"What about me?" another asked, taking Flynn, "I'm broke."

A brawl then broke out amongst the men, and Flynn was in the middle of it. Rapunzel was swept over with overwhelming alarm. She needed Flynn to take her to the lanterns, she didn't know how to get there _or_ back to her tower alone. _If I don't get him back, I'll be stuck here with these hairy-faced men until I die!_ Which, by looking at the thugs, she figured would not be much longer.

She whacked at the rock hard men with her frying pan, to no avail. She shouted at them to let go of her guide, but none of them even noticed her. _What should I do? I have to do __something__!_ Because as odd and hostile as Flynn was, she worried for his safety as much as her own.

It seemed that his safety was not going to last much longer as the thugs began to stretch Flynn out between them. The thug with a hook for a hand raised his fist to strike. _What do I do?_

Rapunzel saw a root from the tree growing outside coming through the ceiling, directly above the hook hand thug. Thinking quickly, Rapunzel threw her hair over it and pulled as hard as she could so that it stretched closer to the ceiling.

"Not the nose! Not the nose!" Flynn was pleading as he was forced to remain still by the giant hands that were holding him.

Rapunzel released her hair and the root came crashing down on the hook hand thug's head just before he deprived Flynn of his perfectly straight nose. Everyone froze, shocked.

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Rapunzel shouted. She had no idea what came over her. She was so overcome with desperation that suddenly the hulking figures with hairy faces no longer frightened her.

"OK. I don't know where I am and I need him to take me to see the lanterns because I've been dreaming about them my entire life!" The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them, spilling everything. She was lucky she didn't let slip anything about her hair. "Find your humanity!" she continued, gasping with fervor, "Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

All the thugs and Flynn were staring at her. Flynn's mouth hung open, looking absolutely dumbfounded that she had been so fierce towards such threatening men. The hook hand thug glared at her and drew a brandished a large axe as he marched towards her. _This is it. This is the end. I'm done for. Mother was right. I'm going to be killed by a man with hair on his face. What a fate._

The hook hand thug loomed over her with a menacing scowl, his face just inches from her's. Rapunzel looked at the dark hair protruding from his upper lip and cringed.

Hook hand looked away from her and stared into the void wearing a forlorn expression. "I had a dream once."

_Wait, what?_

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_Another chapter finished. Whoo! Tell me what you think, reviews= hugs and kisses all around plus puppy dogs and ice cream! :D _

_Fluff starting in the next chapter, I promise. Stay tuned!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Surprise! Two chapters in one day. I had an early day at school today, so I had extra time. I gave up sitting out in my beautiful California weather to write this. 75 degrees in January, oh yeah, be jealous snow people. Anyways, here's Chapter 4._

_I do not own Tangled *cue the tears and the sniffles*_

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Rapunzel sat on a log and arranged her hair around herself in a way that it would dry the fastest. It was already practically dry, but still. She looked around at the forest around her. It was getting hard to see since the sun was almost gone, but she was still able to marvel at the large, beautiful trees around her.

She was alone at the moment (except for Pascal of course). Flynn- no, his name was Eugene- had left, mumbling something about wood and being right back. If she had been sitting alone in the dark forest when she first left her tower, she probably would have freaked out and ran for cover. However, the longer she stayed outside, the more accustomed she came to it. She hadn't come across anything truly terrifying yet. Of course, she was _always_ scared at first, but would come to discover that it wasn't so bad after all. For example, the bunny, the pub thugs... Eugene.

Speak of the devil, the sound of footsteps reached her ears and Eugene appeared from out of the darkness, his arms full of wood. Rapunzel straightened up and smiled as he approached. He didn't immediately return the smile, but Rapunzel could detect a subtle upturn at the corner of his mouth. He knelt down on the ground and placed the wood at his side.

Rapunzel watched, entranced, as he began to prepare a fire. She had only seen him give a sincere smile once. Once while they were in the tunnel beneath the Snuggly Duckling, he had flashed a quick one at her over his shoulder. She liked his smile. It was crooked which just made it all the more... adorable, for lack of a better term.

She continued to watch him silently. He no longer frightened her in any way. All fear she had once felt was now morphed into fascination. His broad shoulders, thick arms, flat chest, large hands, short hair. He was interesting. Of course what really interested her the most was the patch of hair covering the end of his chin.

Hair on a man's face must have been a normal thing. The pub thugs' appearances had proven that. Most of them had hair on their faces too, but their's had been different from Eugene's. The hair on the thugs' faces made them appear unkempt and menacing, but Eugene's... Eugene's suited him, made him seem more pleasing to the eye. She had thought that before, but she officially decided upon it as she watched him now. She wondered what it felt like to touch it. It seemed so much different from the hair on his head, even though it was the same dark brown color.

Eugene finally succeeded in getting the fire lit and within minutes, it was large and crackling loudly. Once it was lit, Eugene sat on the log beside Rapunzel and wiped his hands in a self-satisfied way. He cringed slightly as he brushed against the large gash on his palm.

He suddenly became aware that Rapunzel was staring at him and he turned his head to look at her questioningly. "Something wrong, Blondie?" he asked.

Rapunzel snapped out of her trance and hastily shook her head. "No!" she said, probably a little too loudly, "No, I just... I was wondering..."

She trailed off. Her curiosity and embarrassment began to battle within her, keeping her from finishing her sentence. After she had not said anything for a moment, Eugene pressed, "Wondering what?"

Rapunzel reached for her hair and twiddled with it like she always did when she was nervous. _Just do it. What's the worst he could do? Laugh? _She didn't want him to laugh at her, or think she was silly for asking a probably obvious question. _Wait, why do I care about that?_

"I was wondering what that is," she pointed at his chin.

Eugene looked at her, his face telling her he had not been expecting that question. His hand moved up to his face and gently fingered the patch of hair. "This?"

Rapunzel nodded, waiting for his reaction. His face relaxed as the question fully registered. Rapunzel realized he was probably expecting a question about his name or something.

"It's called a beard," he replied, a hint of pride detectable in his tone, "This one is more specifically, a goatee."

"What's it for?"

Eugene seemed thrown by that question, as if he had never really thought about it before. "Uh... the same reason you have hair on your head, I guess. To look good."

Rapunzel's theory had been correct. Hair on a man's face was not dangerous or unusual after all. "Do all men have beards?"

"Nope. Some have mustaches or nothing at all. Of course," he fingered his goatee again, a smile playing across his mouth, "Only the most charming and dashingly handsome men can pull off something like this."

Rapunzel could tell that he was joking around, but she was too focused on his chin to even smile. She once again had the urge to touch it. _Why not? He didn't laugh at you before. Why should he now?_

She lifted her hand towards his face. His eyes widened, uncomfortably, full of questions. "Do you mind?" Rapunzel asked, timidly, "I'm just... curious."

He relaxed a bit, but not completely. "Sure. Have at it."

Rapunzel extended her arm and slowly, her fingers came into contact with his beard. It was prickly, but sort of soft. Not what she was expecting, like when she felt grass for the first time. The hair seemed coarser and thicker than the hair on his head, not that she had felt the hair on his head, but it _seemed_ very fine and soft. Yes, she liked the hair on his chin, she decided. She continued running her thumb over it, transfixed. Her complete focus on it.

After who knows how long, she heard a faint sound: Eugene clearing his throat. Her concentration was broken and she looked up into his eyes. They were wide with slight embarrassment, the hazel color reflecting the light from the nearby fire making them appear even appealing than before. It was then that Rapunzel became aware of their proximity. How did they get so close? Her nose was nearly touching his and she could feel his breath on her chin. It was coming in small, quick spurts, almost as if he was... nervous?

Rapunzel felt her stomach do a somersault and she quickly removed her hand from his face, perplexed by the new sensation she had just felt while looking into his eyes. Eugene cleared his throat again and suddenly found a deep interest in his feet.

"So uh..." he took a second to recover, but soon his old confident self was back, "Enjoy the view, Blondie?"

Rapunzel smiled, the strange jolting sensation fading away. "Thank you," she said, "Like I said, I was just curious."

They fell into silence and sat in the now completely black forest without a word for what seemed like an eternity. Rapunzel observed Eugene gingerly touching the cut on his hand and forcing back winces of pain with each brush. Rapunzel looked at the slice in his hand. It looked pretty bad. She wondered how he could even stand to move it, much less gather firewood and prepare a fire. She instantly felt sympathy towards him. She had to help him, he had been patient with her the entire day and he had allowed her to explore her curiosity with his goatee. He even trusted her enough to tell her his real name. She could trust him with her own secret.

"You helped me, so now I'll help you," she said.

He faced her, puzzled. "What?"

"Give me your injured hand please."

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_Ooh, the two lovebird's are experiencing a little bit of hormones *waggles eyebrows* ;P_

_I should hopefully have a new chapter by tomorrow. (We'll have to see how much of my teachers' lessons I can tune out while I brainstorm ideas.)_


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm sorry I wasn't able to do my daily post yesterday and I don't really have a good excuse for it either... I was at my friend's house all day after school. Anyways, here's the lantern scene! This chapter was amazingly difficult to write. I must have rewritten it five or six times. I wasn't originally planning to do the entire scene in fear of ruining it, but it sort of kept going so... here we are. I hope it's OK, I've read some truly terrible renditions of this scene and I hope this is not one of them._

_Nope, no Tangled ownership for me. I will on March 29 have a copy of the DVD so I could say I do technically own it :D_

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_You get to go find a new dream. _Rapunzel repeated Eugene's words over and over again in her mind. A new dream? What else could she dream about from inside her tower? She had already experienced everything she had ever even thought about and more. There was so much more of the world that she wanted to see. That could be her new dream, to see the rest of the world. But then she remembered her mother. _Mother would never let me leave again. _She sighed, maybe something would come to mind later.

She turned her gaze to Eugene, sitting next to her. He didn't show any sign of his noticing her stare, so she didn't withdraw your eyes. Early on she had decided he was nice to look at and figured she could get used to looking at him. Now, she really did enjoy watching him and it was not just out of curiosity. It had started out as mere fascination with physical differences between them, but now... now there was something else that kept her looking at him.

She hadn't really had a good long look at him since she knocked him out in the tower, just a few little observations every now and then. She relished this opportunity to watch him while he was lost in his own thoughts.

She couldn't decide what her favorite feature of his was. His hair was nice. Dark, smooth, slightly wavy and it just fell over his eyes it a way that perfectly defined his face shape. He had wonderful eyes too. Hazel (like her favorite soup), always a spark of good humor and keen observation present within them. His nose, that which he took great pride in, was perfect in every way, shape, and form. He had good reason to be proud of it. He didn't have any sort of blemish on his skin, not even freckles like she had, which made that part of him perfect as well.

Of course, who could forget his goatee. The thing that had absolutely baffled her from the very start. She had felt it with her fingers, but now she wondered what it would feel like say... against her cheek. She pushed the thought aside. _When would that ever happen? He acts so funny whenever you get close to him._ She moved on with her thoughts and recalled the many different emotions it had made her feel since she first saw him. Horror, puzzlement, fascination, and now enjoyment. As an artist, she knew when something looked good and when something didn't. Eugene's beard was the final embellishing touch on the grand masterpiece of his face.

At that thought, Rapunzel felt that strange, stomach-churning sensation she had felt by the campfire the previous night, and she felt her cheeks flush. She had been experiencing that feeling a lot that day, especially when she touched Eugene's hand. She sort of liked the feeling, so she had grabbed it whenever possible, under the guise of pulling him from one place to another. But the feeling was so strange... what did it mean? Love?

She had read about 'falling in love' in one of the books she had looked at in the bookstore that afternoon. _Are these foreign feelings I am experiencing signs of falling in love?_ she had wondered in the bookstore. The 'fairytale book', as Eugene called it, had not described what it felt like to be in love, but she had gotten a good idea of what it was like. And it seemed very similar to what she was experiencing with Eugene.

She had met him by chance, gone on an adventure, shared secrets, spent a lot of time with each other, danced with each other (well almost), just like the characters in the book. All that they were missing was... kissing. She had to look up the word kissing in another book because Eugene had turned bright red when she asked him what it was and hastily busied himself with a random book without answering. After reading a little about it, she couldn't help, but wonder what it was like to kiss someone.

Another feature in the 'fairytale book' was that the man was in love with the woman as well. If Rapunzel actually _was_ falling in love with Eugene... was he falling in love with her too?

Rapunzel looked at the man in question, as if looking at him would give her the answer. However, he wasn't there. She looked down and saw him stooped over, picking something up from the floor of the boat. When he sat back up, he held up his hand. In his palm, Rapunzel saw several flowers that had apparently fallen loose from her thick braid.

With a small smile, she carefully took one from his hand and gently placed it on the surface of the water. She watched it bob up an down with a contented smile. There was something about how the flower floated there that gave her a strange sense of calm. She felt some of the anxiety she felt towards seeing the lanterns slowly obliterate.

She continued placing more flowers atop the dark, glassy water. Eugene just held the flowers out to her, watching her silently. Rapunzel carefully picked another flower from Eugene's palm and placed it in the water among the others. Suddenly, she saw a small glimmering light reflecting in the water. Her eyes widened and she looked up. _Could it be...?_

It was. A single lantern was slowly rising from the kingdom in the distance. Overcome with excitement, Rapunzel nearly capsized the boat as scrambled for the end that was closest to the kingdom.

More lanterns began to rise. They were even more beautiful than she had hoped. More and more were released and they slowly drifted out over the water, surrounding their small, lone boat. There were hundreds, thousands even. Thousands of warm glowing lights surrounding them.

Rapunzel dreamily rested her head on the end of the boat, gazing at her life-long dream come true. They were truly breathtaking. Better than she had ever imagined and that was saying something. Now that she had seen the lanterns, what was her new dream? Eugene suddenly came back to her mind. Her life had been completely changed since she met him. He had done so much for her... and she was just going to go back to her tower and never see him again? The thought broke her out of her pleasant daydreaming. _I don't want to leave him. I can't leave him. _She needed a new dream... and he could be it.

She turned to look at him. There he sat smiling with his irresistible crooked smile, holding two lanterns in his hands. Rapunzel hurried over and sat across form him, touched. She smiled at him. _I guess now's better than ever to give him back what's his._

"I have something for you too," she said, reaching under her seat and pulling out the satchel. He looked at it, his mouth hanging open slightly, almost as if he had completely forgotten about it. Rapunzel continued, "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

Eugene gently pushed aside the satchel and gave her the most gentle smile she had ever seen on his flawless face. "I'm starting to."

Rapunzel's heart skipped a beat and her stomach flip-flopped again. She could hardly contain her relief as she beamed at him. He handed her one of the lanterns and they simultaneously released them into the sky with the others. Rapunzel watched in awe as the two stuck together until out of sight, almost as if they were in a dance together.

A lantern began floating their way, close to touching the water. Rapunzel gleefully pointed at it and leaned as far out of the boat as possible to catch it before it hit the water. She sent it back into the sky where it belonged.

The next thing she knew, something warm was squeezing her hand. Surprised, she looked at the hand holding her's, then at its owner. Eugene was wearing an expression full of all the tenderness in the world. Rapunzel had been experiencing that strange sensation all day, but now it was stronger than ever. _Could he possibly be feeling the same as me? _

Rapunzel became lost in his eyes as he took her other hand. She could see it. There in his eyes, she could tell that he was feeling the same way about her as she did him. He delicately brushed some loose hair behind her ear, but didn't remove his hand. Instead, he put some pressure onto the back of her neck, gently pulling her towards him.

Her first thought, as their faces drew closer, was that she might actually get to feel his goatee on her cheek, but the closer they got, she completely forgot about that and remembered the fairytale book. All they had been missing was 'true love's kiss'. By the looks of it, that was exactly what was going to happen.

Her heart rate sped up to an unbelievable speed and on instinct, she closed her eyes, waiting. Waiting for her first kiss, waiting to feel the strange phenomenon on his chin touch her own, waiting to confirm her new dream. If she got that kiss from him, she would never return to her tower, no matter how much she loved her mother.

But it never came.

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_I know it doesn't focus on the facial hair as much as the previous chapters like it's supposed to and focuses on their growing feelings for one another, but #1- it made the chapter longer, #2- it answered my question as to how Rapunzel knew what being in love and kissing was, because surely Gothel didn't explain any of that to her, and #3- who doesn't enjoy a little RapunzelxEugene goodness? And I just want to say that I completely melt when Rapunzel turns around and sees Eugene smiling and holding the lanterns. One of my favorite little parts! 8D Darn Disney raising my expectations for guys._

_Reviews are the highlight of my day. They mean sunshine and lollipops and might include me frolicking around the house singing at the top of my lungs XP_


	6. Chapter 6

_I think I might cry over my wonderful reviewers. I really did dance around the house singing "True Love's Kiss" from Enchanted. I have film proof (my sister filmed me). You guys are the best!3_

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Rapunzel could hardly believe what had just happened. Her hair was gone, her 'mother' was gone, Eugene was-

_Eugene!_ She turned away from the window where she had just seen Gothel disappear and scurried to Eugene's side. She grabbed onto him and pulled him up to face her. He wasn't moving and he didn't seem to be breathing either.

"No, no, no, no, no! Eugene?" Rapunzel searched his face trying to find some sign of life.

He gave a slight cough and his head turned away. _He's still alive!_ Rapunzel pulled his face back towards her, even though his eyes were still closed. "Look at me! Look at me, I'm right here," she pleaded with him, "Don't go. Stay with me Eugene!"

Rapunzel lifted his hand and placed it on her sheared, now brown hair. "Flower gleam and glow," she sang helplessly, choking back sobs, "Let your power shine..."

"Hey," Eugene tried to get her attention, but she didn't hear him.

"Make the clock reverse," the tears were gathering in her eyes as she continued with her song, "Bring back what once was mine-"

"Rapunzel!" Eugene forced out as firmly as he could, which wasn't much at all, but it got her attention.

"What?" She held his hand to her cheek.

Eugene's eyes were barely open. There was a short pause while Eugene searched for the strength to say something. "You were my new dream," he whispered, barely audible.

Rapunzel felt her heart snap in half. The way he said it was as if he were saying goodbye to her. _No! He can't die! He can't leave me!_ Rapunzel forced back her tears. "And you were mine."

Eugene's eyes closed shut and with a final exhale, he went limp in her arms.

Rapunzel could not believe it. He was gone. Her new dream was gone. She meant it when she told him that. He _was_ her new dream. Her heart would have soared if he had said those words to her while he was healthy and well, knowing that he did feel the same way about her as she did him, but now... it just hurt.

She slowly placed his hand by his side and placed her own onto his face. He had been the first person (other than Gothel) she had met. The first _man_ she met. Her first (human) friend. Her first love.

Yes, she had decided that she had indeed fallen in love with him. She just wished she could have had her first kiss with him. Where did it go wrong? Their lives had been just like the fairytale book,until somehow it suddenly all went wrong.

She kept her eyes focused on his lifeless face, trying to memorize every detail. His eyes, his nose, his mouth, his eyebrows, his cheeks, his hair... Rapunzel let her fingers slip so that they were touching his jawline. She slowly traced it down to his chin and she felt that patch of hair beneath the pads of her finger tips. His goatee. Who would have thought that such a little thing would become the beginning of her feelings towards him? From fright, to fascination, to like, to love. Yes, she could indeed, directly connect that small patch of hair to her relationship with Eugene.

She remembered how much she enjoyed touching it for the first time. His uncomfortable relent, their proximity, the first time Rapunzel realized that there was something beyond just liking someone. Now she could not enjoy the feeling of touching his beard when he was not there to relive that moment with her. It did not bring any sort of pleasant feeling to her. Just pain.

She felt her face gravitating closer to his, tears welling up in her eyes. "Heal what has been hurt," she sang softly, "Change the fate's design/ Save what has been lost/ Bring back what once was mine..."

Her heart hurt. Oh it hurt so bad. He was gone. She forced herself to finished the last line to the incantation. It came out in a strained whisper, "What once was mine."

Tears began to fall then. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, his head cradled in her lap, her crying over his body. Was love always this painful? First, he had just left her alone. Then Gothel, who she thought she loved, betrayed her. Now Eugene was dead, gone forever. For the first time in her life, Rapunzel felt completely alone and helpless.

She suddenly became aware of a glowing light from nearby. She lifted her eyes, curiously looking for the source. To her amazement, it was coming from Eugene's wound. She removed her hand from his face and watched the growing light. It was soon spiraling all around the room like growing vines, engulfing her and Eugene's body in golden light. _What is happening?_

A flower formed above Eugene, glowing brighter and brighter with each second. Rapunzel didn't know what to think as she watched. Where did this come from? What was going on? Why was this happening? Slowly, the light began to fade away, retreating back to Eugene's side. Soon the room was left in the dark, overcast state it had previously been in, as if nothing had ever happened.

Rapunzel's first instinct was to look at the wound where the light had disappeared, but she found herself searching Eugene's face instead. _Could it be... could it really be...?_

Eugene remained unmoving. Rapunzel was ready to reprimand herself for thinking that he could possible be alive. _This is silly, of course he wasn't_- Then Eugene's eyes fluttered open. He took a small breath and looked at her through squinted eyes. "Rapunzel?" he mumbled.

Rapunzel couldn't believe it. She could _not_ believe it. _Am I dreaming? _Could it really be him? She decided to ask, "Eugene?"

He took another breath. "Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?" he said with a smile. It was crooked, just like she remembered.

It was him! Eugene was alive! Only he would say something so ridiculous yet sweet like that after_ dying_. It overwhelmed her with complete and utter joy. Without thinking, she threw herself on top of him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Eugene!"

He responded quickly by pulling them into more of a sitting position and holding her close. She felt his face buried into her neck, as he squeezed her small frame to himself. He. Was. Alive. Rapunzel had never been more happy in all her life. She suddenly wanted to just see his face. To see his perfect face, alive. He seemed hesitant to let her go as she pulled back, but he let her.

She looked at him. His hazel eyes were glowing with just about as much joy as she was feeling (if that was even possible). He beamed at her and Rapunzel giggled with giddiness. Before she could stop herself, she gripped the collar of his vest and pulled him towards her, crushing her lips to his. He stiffened, probably surprised by the unexpected gesture, but after a few seconds, he cupped his hand to the back of her head and carefully adjusted the position of their lips in order to deepen it.

Never would she ever experience anything like that kiss ever again. All the troubles, hurt, and confusion she had experienced in the past few hours melted away in that kiss. She now had everything she ever wanted... including feeling Eugene's beard against her face.

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_I tried as hard as I could not to repeat myself too much. Hope I did this scene at least a little bit of justice. I couldn't do it full justice, because it was just too amazing!_

_One more chapter left, but still plenty of room for reviews. *hint hint*_


	7. Chapter 7

_Oh my gosh! Sorry for the late update! But school has completely overtaken my life! Good grief, I've been through far too much. But I was finally was able to write this chapter._

_Last chapter, it's sort of an epilogue. Shout out to my wonderful reviewers who just brighten my day after I've had a bad one. Particularly yesterday when my inbox was spammed full of hits on this story, my eyes just about popped out of my head! Hugs and kisses all around! _

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Eugene strolled down the corridor, hands clasped behind his back. It was empty and silent, but he was rather grateful for it. Being the prince consort was not an easy task, always surrounded by pushy nobles, and piles of contracts and trade agreements. He was grateful for every moment he was able to spend in silence.

He glanced around at the castle's interior. He was still amazed at how much his life had changed since he met Rapunzel. It had been completely turned upside-down, going from the kingdom's most wanted thief to the prince consort. That was a drastic change within itself. Also, he was no longer known as Flynn Rider throughout the land anymore. It took a while for 'Eugene Fitzherbert' to be heard amongst the common gossip, but it soon became a familiar name throughout the kingdom by the one year anniversary of Rapunzel's return.

One of the strangest changes for him was that people respected him and maybe even _admired_ him. Not as much as they did Rapunzel of course, but still, it was a strange thing for him to adapt to. No one had ever even liked him since he was dumped at the orphanage when he was only two years old and no one probably would have still if he had not met Rapunzel.

His reminiscing was interrupted by a high pitched squeal. He turned his head and saw a little girl run around the corner, flailing her arms. She ran to him and grasped onto one of his legs. "Daddy!"

Eugene pried the young girl off his leg and lifted her up so that she was at eye level with him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

His daughter pointed down the hall with a pudgy finger. "No bath!"

"No bath?" Eugene repeated, balancing her on his hip, "Why not?"

"Jemeemeema!"

Eugene understood the three-year-old's gibberish. Jemima was the young princess's main attendant. She was a short, plump woman with a red, wrinkled face and beady blue eyes who had a severe dislike for commoners marrying a princess. She also had no tolerance for energetic toddlers. Eugene didn't like the woman any more than the girl in his arms did. Why she was his daughter's main attendant, he would never know.

"Lily," he said. Yes, they had named their child after a flower. It was fitting since Rapunzel had been named after a flower too. "You don't have to go back to Jemima if you don't want to."

"No!" Lily buried her small face in his shoulder, tightly wrapping her little arms around his neck. She had quite a hold for a three-year-old and Eugene found himself struggling for air.

"Lills," he choked out her nickname, attempting to pull from her death grip. He had to think of something to distract her. He pointed to one of his eyes, "What's this?"

Thankfully, she pulled back to look. "Eye," she responded.

Eugene pointed to his ear. "What's this?"

"Ear." Lily was wearing a cheek to cheek grin, clearly enjoying the game.

"What about this?" Eugene pointed at his nose.

"Nose!" Lily declared happily.

"And who has the finest nose in all the kingdom?"

Lily giggled. "Daddy!"

"That's right." He was so proud, she had learned well. Of course he had to teach her himself, but she caught on quickly. The little girl reached out her hand and grabbed his chin, "Goatee."

Another reason to be proud. Oh yes, he had taught her well. "That's right," he said with a wink. The child squealed in delight.

Eugene got a good look at her and was taken aback by how she looked exactly like her mother. From the sweet, heart shaped face to the freckled button nose and full pouty lips. The only difference was that Lily's eyes were brown like his, rather than green like her mother's.

"There you are!" a voice said from behind.

Eugene turned around and saw Rapunzel standing at the end of the hallway with two maids standing directly behind her. Her hair was still cropped and brown, exactly as it had been when he cut it five years earlier. She walked gracefully towards Eugene and Lily.

"Mommy!" Lily squealed, stretching her arms out to the princess.

Rapunzel held out her arms and Eugene handed Lily over to her. "Aren't you supposed to be taking your bath?" Rapunzel asked.

Lily bit her tongue and shook her head with a smile. "No."

"Are you sure?" Rapunzel asked raising her eyebrows and smiling, "Because I thought I saw Jemima looking for you."

"No!" the girl's eyes widened with horror and she looked to her father for help.

"I think it would be best if we got a different maid to help Lills with her bath," Eugene suggested.

"Would that be better?" Rapunzel asked her daughter. Lily nodded enthusiastically.

Rapunzel turned to the two maids who were still standing behind her. "Sarah," she said to one of them, "Would you please see to her bath for today?"

Of course a servant could not say no to the princess, so she nodded. Before giving away her daughter, Rapunzel gave her an affectionate eskimo kiss. "Be good for Sarah, alright."

Lily giggled and nodded. Rapunzel was just about to hand her over to the maid, but Eugene intervened, "Hold on, Mommy gets a kiss, what about Daddy?"

Rapunzel moved Lily closer to Eugene. Lily promptly pecked her lips on his cheek. "Thank you," Eugene grinned at her.

Lily was handed to the maid, Sarah, and she, along with the other maid, walked down the hallway. Rapunzel folded her arms and watched until they disappeared. "I hope she'll be OK," she sighed.

"Lills? She'll be fine," Eugene replied.

"No, I meant Sarah," Rapunzel stated, not withdrawing her eyes from the end of the hallway, "Lily is an absolute terror in the tub."

Eugene smirked. "She's a terror practically everywhere she goes."

Rapunzel looked up at her husband, a smile playing across her lips. "Gets it from her father, I guess."

Eugene shrugged. "What can I say? Those trade meetings do get awful boring."

Rapunzel giggled. "Speaking of meetings, I'm supposed to be heading for one right now."

Eugene gave her an exaggerated bow and held out his hand. "Your royal highness, it would be my pleasure to escort such a fair princess, as yourself, to whatever boring meeting she has to attend."

Rapunzel giggled again. "And it would be my pleasure to _be_ escorted by such a handsome prince, such as yourself, to whatever _necessary_ meeting I have to attend." She put extra emphasis on 'necessary'. She took his hand.

With a final eyebrow waggle, Eugene led her down the corridor. They had not been walking long when Eugene became aware that Rapunzel was staring at him. He looked at her quizzically. "What are you thinking about?"

His wife shrugged. "I was just remembering why I fell in love with you," she replied.

This piqued Eugene's curiosity. They had never really discussed their past before and he had to admit he had been curious as to why she had fallen for him. "What was it?" he asked, "My charm? My devilish good looks?"

"Your beard."

Eugene halted in the middle of the empty hallway not too far from the council room. He felt his over-inflated ego deflate slightly, completely bewildered by her response. For a moment, he was left speechless. "Huh?" finally escaped his mouth.

Rapunzel seemed entertained by his confusion. "It's true," she said simply, "It was the first thing I admired about you.

_Say what? Of all things to admire, she chose the goatee? _His face must have revealed what he was thinking because she continued, "I was scared of it at first, but then I got used to it and I wanted to be with you as much as possible so I could study it. It was so interesting."

Eugene furrowed his brow. "So you liked my goatee more than you liked me?"

"I never said that," Rapunzel rolled her eyes, still smiling, "It just made me want to know more about you and the next thing I knew..."

She finished the sentence with a playful shrug. It was Eugene's turn to be amused. Only she would connect facial hair to falling in love. That was why he loved her so much, always catching him off guard with her quirkiness.

"Anything else I should know about your relationship with my goatee?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well, I guess you should know that I like to kiss you so much because I like how it feels on my face."

Again, he was caught off guard. "You only kiss me so you can feel it on your face?" he repeated in mock offense, "Geez, and I always thought you kissed me because I was good at it."

Rapunzel laughed. "That's not what I meant-" she stopped herself and a mischievous smile began to form over her mouth, "Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Prove that your kisses can outdo you beard."

_Oh she is good_. He had to hit her back and catch her off guard somehow, but he was drawing a blank. Rapunzel crossed her arms, feigning impatience, "Well?"

"Fine," Eugene said.

He slowly took her in his arms. She looked up at him, her bright green eyes dilating as she did so. She was too beautiful for her own good. Cupping her chin in his hand, he brought her face closer to his. He watched as her eyes slowly slid shut, their mouths just centimeters away.

Taking advantage of the moment, Eugene grabbed her shoulders and pressed his chin into her cheek, rhythmically rubbing his beard against her smooth skin. "Eugene! Eugene, stop!" she yelped, struggling to break from his hold.

He ignored her protests and continued to scratch her cheek. She pushed against his chest, letting out very unladylike snorts of laughter. "Eu-GENE!" she hollered through her giggles.

He finally pulled back with a mischievous smile of his own. "Proof enough for you?"

Rapunzel pouted and rubbed her cheek. "That was a cruel trick, Fitzherbert."

She was too cute when she made that face. "You're welcome," Eugene said wearing a self-satisfied smile.

Rapunzel just shook her head, obviously trying to force back her amusement. "Well thank you, you royal pain. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a meeting I have to attend."

She turned to leave, but Eugene grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into a deep kiss. He held it for several seconds, cupping his hand over the back of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck in response. He was the first to pull back, leaving Rapunzel in a daze.

Rapunzel smiled at him. "Most definitely better than the beard," she stated, breathlessly.

"Goatee," Eugene corrected her.

"Whatever." Rapunzel pulled him into another kiss. He could feel her smile against his lips as she let her hand come up to touch his chin, but frankly, he could have cared less.

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_The End. Whoo! Yay for pure fluffiness! :D_

_I originally wasn't planning on doing this from Eugene's perspective nor was I planning on including a child, but it just kind of worked. I had to include the "What's this?" game because it was my absolute favorite game when I was little. Also, the whisker rub. My dad loved to give those out too._

_Reviews are my friend, especially now. My english teacher has been giving me a hard time, so I could use a confidence boost ;P_


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